The Joys and Perils Of Online [Used] Clothes Shopping

A guide on how to maximise the successful purchases and minimise the bad luck.

Online clothes shopping could be a risky business from a regular store, let alone from a thrift virtual store. Or so the saying goes. Yes and no. There’s nothing that different buying between buying new and used clothes online. The difference between buying used clothes online and offline even tilts in favour of online shopping. Here is why:

I. Joy: Choice is great in an average thrift shop than in the average department store.

Yes, it is. You can see in a single thrift shop more variety than in a huge department store of items. The same holds true for an online used clothes marketplace.

II. Joy: Hidden Treasures

Searching for a given item that is not among current fashion trends is a lost cause in a standard online or offline store. Say you’ve fallen in love with a white top on black dots that you’ve seen on an add for washing soap? Chances are much greater you’ll find something similar and much faster in a thrift online/offline shop.

The second point is obvious – thrift shops are full of items that cost a fraction of the price because their previous owners just want to see them out of the house. That is even more frequent in online thrift shops because they are typically used by busy people, who value time over money and are ready to sell an item cheaply just to do it fast.

III. Peril: Thrifting takes time.

Well, online thrifting is much faster and efficient. A good website will provide quality search and filters for size, color, condition. Usually you can see all items of a given seller and even follow them if they have taste similar to yours. Show us a physical thrift shop which can boast that!

IV. Joy of physical shopping: You can try on clothes.

Well, here whether you are buying new or used clothes online it doesn’t make a difference – you are still left to wonder if the size is ok. Well, buying online from a proper thrift shop would provide you with a way to contact the seller – a huge advantage compared to physical thrifting. They can not only answer questions and provide measures. You can see their seller review and other items, which they sell so you can get an idea what kind of wardrobe the person has. A clever seller would most probably have taken pictures of the item on them and you can judge their body shape and compare to yours.

V. Peril: You dont get the item immediately.

Yes, true. But patience is a huge virtue and waiting for a treasured item to arrive makes the joy of the purchase last longer. Besides, as frequent online shoppers, we can share you that you get used to the waiting and your mind adjusts to the thought that it will take some time before the purchase arrives. Recently, sellers have been really fast to sell items, postal services are quite cheap and reliable and usually quite fast.

At the bottom line we can say that online thrifting can be even more successful, faster and full of bargains that its offline counterpart and surely more than both online and offline purchases from regular stores. Enjoy it!